East Hamilton Takes Left-Handed Win Over Rhea County

The East Hamilton Hurricanes played a disciplined game against Rhea County on Tuesday night, defeating the visiting Golden Eagles 3-1. Both teams had strong pitching, but three East Hamilton left-handed pitchers in a row kept Rhea County from scoring most of the night, only allowing a single hit and a single run.

Both teams were scoreless until the bottom of the second inning when East Hamilton scored two runs after Davis Whitner advanced to third base on a passed ball, scoring on Liam Hughes’ ground ball to the pitcher. Barron Ashmore scored on a steal of home base in that same inning, giving the Hurricanes a 2-0 lead over the Golden Eagles.

Rhea County responded with a run of their own in the fourth inning with Halston Shaver’s sacrifice fly ball allowing Corydon Butler to score. Butler was the only Golden Eagle to collect a hit in three at bats for the night.

East Hamilton scored again at the bottom of the fifth inning, after another steal by Mason Wolcott, ending the night with a 3-1 lead over Rhea County and six stolen bases for the night.

Coach George Bolus, Head Coach for East Hamilton was glad for the win, the Hurricanes’ fourth win in a row. “Just a wonderful job all around. It’s a team effort. These guys come out every day and they compete and pick each other up.” Asked about his deep bench of left-handed pitchers, Bolus said, “We are quite blessed here at East Hamilton. We’ve got about five or six guys- quality guys actually, that we can put out there and we’ll back them up all day long…Pitching was a great asset tonight for us, but defense picked it up behind them right there and it was just an all-around team effort.”

Junior Davis Whitner, the third and final pitcher of the night for the Hurricanes, allowed no hits in the last three innings of the game. Reflecting on his performance, Whitner said, “I pitched pretty well. I would say I just felt like I had good command of all my pitches- fast ball, change up, slider. I felt like I could put it anywhere I wanted tonight, and I think that contributed greatly to my success… I like coming out of the pen, giving some time for the game to develop and just going from there.”

Rhea County Head Coach Michael Swafford reflected on the role the pitchers played on both teams, saying, “It was a pitcher’s duel all the way there. Levi Love came out for us, gave us a chance. Jim Cunningham filled in behind him, only giving up three hits in a region opponent. That’s a big deal. On the flip side of that, there’s only one hit in the column for us. Tip of the cap, they threw three lefties at us tonight and they were dialed in.”

The Golden Eagles’ pitching coach Chris Bayne was pleased with the performance of their two pitchers for the night. “I’m very pleased with our pitching. We pounded the zone. Got some tough breaks here and there, but I’m very pleased with our pitching staff tonight.” When asked if he was optimistic about the season, he said, “I really am. I’m very proud of our guys. We’re young but we’re still pounding the zone, letting our defense work.”

Rhea County junior Corydon Butler reflected on what his team did well and also what they could have done better. “It was good. We just couldn’t really hit the ball. We put some in play. We had a lot of strike outs though. So I feel like we just gotta hit the ball better.” When asked how he felt about the season, he said, “I’m still feeling good about it. Better than last year. We still have a chance to do some good stuff. Just gotta play a little better.”

Coach Bolus was still beaming as his team left their home field with another win, proud of the performance of his guys. “This team comes ready to compete every day. Whether it’s practice or games, they come ready to compete.”

GOLDEN EAGLES 000 100 0 – 1 1 1
HURRICANES 020 010 x -3 3 2
Love, Cunningham (5); Hughes, Phillips (3), Whitner (5)